Stop Sheltie yapping??

I concur. My dogs all bark for the same reasons mentioned.

I did successfully stop the barking at the vacuum cleaner, by putting my vacuum cleaner attacker, Tres, on a short leash and making him stay by my side while I vacuumed. He couldn't get around in front of the machine to "herd" it. It only took one time and the fun was gone. I did the same thing with the lawn mower - made him walk with me behind the lawn mower while on lead. (I am sure my neighbors thought I was insane when I did that!)
 
Mine bark while playing, and when the downstairs dogs come up to my floor and bark at the door. I don't have a real phone, but a couple of mine alert to my cell phone, which is a good thing. Dogs get put away at vacuum time, except the Collie, she doesn't give a hoot about anything. I don't allow dogs in the yard with giant spinning blades that can chop off feet (the lawnmower), that just seems like a recipe for disaster.

The older dogs know "thank you" and "that'll do" to let them know that I'm on to them and they can shut up now.
 
I have a friend who calls Shelties the "enemy of technology" since many react so strongly to most mechanical or motorized noises. My Simba goes bonkers when I turn on the vacuum...so he either gets crated with a chew or outside in the dog yard (weather permitting) while I vacuum. He also HATES the toaster and any other mechanical cooking/kitchen device and motorized lawm mowers, grass whips, etc.

My other shelties are amazingly calm with most noises...but any car, truck or person that comes up our driveway is cause for loud alarm barking. We don't even have a doorbell since one is definitely not needed. No one could possibly sneak up on our house! LOL Thankfully we have no phone barkers right now.

Outside, unless a runner or biker goes by on the street or they have treed a squirrel, my gang is very quiet...but that is due to our living in the country on 6 acres with the nearest neighbors being 500+ feet away from our house...and "rush hour traffic" on our road is farm equipment going by at the end of the work day. I am sure if we lived in closer quarters that barking would be a BIG issue.

As others have said, reactive barking is not something you will ever fully train out...it is just part of this breed. Management of the situations is often the best you can do.

Trini
 
Sally doesn't bark at the vacuum, but keeps a watchful eye on it and circles the furniture when I first turn it on.

No doorbell needed at our house either, lol. No barking at the phone, but if we don't answer it on the first ring she will howl .

I just got a single serve coffee maker for Christmas that clicks as it reads the bar code on the coffee pod and Sally goes crazy at that sound- at 5:30 in the morning.

And anybody, anything that goes by our house is suspect too. We live in a rural area too so the barking isn't a problem for us as well, thankfully. I still don't let her outside for long if she is in a barking frenzy.

I think they are just so very observant that anything different in their environment or anything potentially dangerous-in their minds needs to be reported back to us. It's their job. Sally watches our eyes all the time to see how we react to stuff. Any hint of excitement and she goes off.
 
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